Struggles
by OffMyTea
Summary: I may have lost before, but I won't again. This time, he's going down with me.


"_All truths are easy to understand once they are discovered; the point is to discover them."_

_**~ Galileo Galilei**_

"_Oh, dear child….I'm surprised that you have even lasted this long…" _The voice reached me through my daze, keeping me from reacting right away. I sat there in the dark, my back pressed up against the cold, hard cement of my confinements. There was the slow, constant drip of water in the distance, the air musky and dank. It was how one would normally picture a dungeon in one of those old medieval movies. And, in a way, that's exactly what it was. In the center of the room stood a man, not exactly with a strong build, but still strong nevertheless, and with dark brown eyes and black hair, he looked menacing, almost. He wore a white coat with a feathered collar, a long black cane with a blue jewel on its hilt. He had long black slacks with leather shoes on his feet. To complete the look, atop his head sat a bowler's hat, black and small, fitting his head perfectly.

"Now, now, let us go through the motions again. You know, I torture, you scream." The man said quietly, leaning down so that he was kneeling in front of me. I could see his dark eyes, slitted like a snake as he narrowed them, evil swimming in their depths. "But today, you will give me what I want." He spoke, his foul breath clouding around my face, causing me to cough. But there was nothing I could do to fight back, for my hands and feet were bond with thick, rough rope, cutting into my flesh with each movement. My long, caramel colored hair was streaked with dirt, plastered to my face in some places from when I had sweated. The only thing that seemed vigilant upon my worn face at the moment were my eyes, green as a leaf in the spring, yet swimming in their depths was blue, shining bright like the sea.

"You shall receive nothing from me!" I spit out, spitting in his face so that the mucus landed in his eye. With a roar of impatience, he stood abruptly, pointing his cane at me as the jewel began to glow. As if by some unknown force, I was thrown across the room, slamming into the cold stone wall, a crack sounding through my body. _'Great, another broken bone.'_ I thought to myself as I lay there, trying to catch my breath as I saw the man start towards me once more, a scowl planted on his face.

"Master Horvath! He is near!"

The voice rang out through the small room, and the man, Horvath, turned to the where the doorway was, facing a younger man, close to my age, who stood with the door open. "Very well, thank you Mister Samuel. I shall be there shortly." The boy nodded, then was gone, the steel door slamming closed behind him. Faintly, I heard the sound of footsteps fleeing down the hallway, and it was only then that I realized that something might really be happening, that I might finally be able to be free of this place. "Now, I have a proposition for you, Katrina, if you wish to live. I give you this back," ,at that he pulled out a small ring, the design intricate, for there was a what appeared to be a phoenix with spread wings, fire surrounding it as it gave it's great call. All this was clear as day, etched into the light silver of the ring.

"Your ring you shall receive only if you promise to fight for me." I sat there, gazing at my most prized possession, wanting so badly to just reach out and take it, to place it back where it belonged, on my finger. But I knew that I couldn't. Still, I refused to agree to his terms, and after a few seconds, I looked up into his face, venom clear in my eyes as I hissed out at him. "Never! I will never betray my father!" I spit out, surprising Horvath with how much venom I had placed in my mouth. Horvath gazed at me for only seconds before his stare slowly turned into a vicious glare. "Fine then. You shall serve as the bait!" He yelled, coming behind me to grip the hem of my shirt and drag me across the floor.

As the door was thrown open, I physically winced in pain as the sunlight light from the hallway. I had been trapped in that room for so long that any brightness was extremely painful. Horvath only chuckled quietly, enjoying seeing the pain he could cause me, though it was little. He continued to drag me along the hallway, quickly coming to the end to kick open the next door, which, with a quick glance, I saw lead out onto the roof of some building. The sunlight burned, and I cried out softly, still not used to any source of light at the moment. Horvath dragged me to the center of the area then dropped me, rushing to the edge, looking down at the street below.

After a moment, I lifted my head slowly; my eyes squinted so that I could peer around me. From what I could see, I was still in New York, the last place I remember being before this whole nightmare had begun. Turning my head to the side, I looked over to Horvath, watching, waiting. "Balthazar! I know that you can hear me! I dare you to come and rescue your precious Katrina!" The evil man screamed, his words echoing out into the cool air of the city. He stood there, chest heaving, eyes wild as he looked around him.

"He won't do it. He's not stupid enough to fall into your trap." I said quietly, trying to not move very much as the rope once again cut into my flesh. Horvath spun instantly, narrowing his eyes at me like before, standing there with such menace that I wasn't sure if I should be intimidated, afraid, or both. With quick steps, he was on me again, gripping by my arm and dragging me to the edge of the building. Before I even knew what had happened, I was suddenly hanging out in open air, Horvath pointing his cane at me, keeping me suspended where I was as a gazed with terrified eyes down at the streets of New York. To me, it appeared that everything was just a speck, making it hard to make anything out at all. And that was what scared me the most.

"Now Balthazar, you have a choice! Either you die…" Horvath then looked at me with an evil smile, moving his cane away for only a moment so that I dropped a little bit, causing me to shriek with terror. "Or your daughter will die for you!" Horvath then turned back to looking around the rooftop, keeping his gaze steady, his face now expressionless. As I watched, there was a small movement, and there he was. There was the long, flowing trench coat, black like a raven's wings, his black shirt underneath, the arm length gloves that wrapped around his fingers. With his wavy, brown hair and dark brown eyes, his look was only completed with a pair of old, leather shoes. There was his face, ageless, young forever due to the spell that had been cast so long ago. "I'm here Horvath. Now put her down, untie her, and let her go." Balthazar spoke softly, his gaze hard as he faced his enemy.

"No!" I yelled, but Horvath only dropped me on the ground beside him, using his magic's to untie me. As the ropes finally released me, I stood, stumbling for a moment before I raced over to Balthazar. As I stumbled again, he caught me in his arms. "Listen to me carefully Katrina. I want you to go to the University of New York. Once you're there, go to the Science building and ask for Professor Stutler. You'll know what to do after that." As he finished his words, he gave me one last hug, and then pushed me behind him, shoving me away towards the edge. As I hit the stone, I could see, hovering in the air below, the large stone eagle that dad had often told me about in his stories.

"Go now Katrina!" My father's words reached me, and I looked back over my shoulder to see Horvath and Balthazar facing each other, preparing to duel. With a deep breath, I gripped the hard edge of the stone, launching myself over the edge to land on the hard metal of the eagle, catching my breath sharply. As I gripped its large neck as best I could, it turned, soaring away from the building, giving me a view of the battle as I fled, hot, salty tears trailing down my face in silence as I watched. And, before I could do anything, I saw one figure fall. I didn't need to guess who it was.

.ooOOoo.

The sun had dipped below the horizon, causing the sky above to dip into the mixed look of Twilight, the sky filled with the glow of red, orange, purple, mixing together to make the perfect blend. There I stood across from the Science building of New York University, just like my father had instructed me, but I didn't want to go, didn't want to confront what I knew I would face. There was only one reason that my father would want me to meet this man, and I knew by now that it probably was related to magic in some way. So there I stood, contemplating what I should.

Of course, by now I had been able to clean up some, for now instead of the ragged clothes that I had been wearing before, I was wearing a pair of skinny jeans, a plain white v-neck t-shirt covering my upper half. On my finger once more was my beloved Phoenix ring, which I only discovered later had been in the pocket my pants, probably due to the efforts of my father. My long hair was now in a pony tail, swaying with each movement that I made. I fingered the ring nervously, not sure what I should do at the moment. Finally, as I began to see more and more professors leaving, I took a deep breath, heading across the parking lot of the building and up the steps, entering the glass doors without expression.

My black flats were barely making any sound on the marble floor as I made my way over to the receptionist's desk. "Excuse me, but I would like to know what room Professor Stutler is in." I said softly, crossing my arms in front of me as I stood there, waiting. The man behind the desk looked up at me with a sigh, his eyes half open as he was obviously bored at the moment, sitting there with nothing to do. "Student I.D." He droned, and I realized my mistake there. Glancing around with slight panic, I then decided to make up something, opening my mouth to do so.

"No need for that Hector, I'm here now."

I turned to find the source of the voice and was meet with the view of a man that didn't look to be to old me, his chocolate colored hair short, his dark brown eyes meeting mine as he gave me a kind smile. At the moment, it appeared that he was leaving, for in one hand he had a brief case, hanging next to his light colored jeans. On his t-shirt there was a picture of a light saying 'I've got a bright idea!' He motioned for me to follow him, and once again, I was in the cool night air, walking down the steps without a word. But the man, who was obviously Professor Stutler, seemed to want to start the conversation. "You know, you look like an old friend of mine."

"Oh really?" I said softly, glancing up at the man beside me as he led me across the parking lot, straight towards an old Cadillac. I stopped not far from it, crossing my arms as I stood there, determined to know why my father had sent me to this particular. "Look, my father, Balthazar Blake, sent me to you for a reason. He said that I would know what to do after I found you." I said, still staying where I was. As the man heard me mention my father's name, I could hear a sharp intake of breath, saw the keys drop from his fingers and towards the pavement. Slowly the professor turned, facing me with wide eyes. "Balthazar?" His voice was soft, barely audible as I responded with a small nod.

"Early today he rescued me from Horvath. But it was at the cost of his freedom. Can you help me or not?" I said, about to turn away before I saw the professor reach his hand out to me. "Wait! I can help you. Do you have your ring?" At the mention of that, my own eyes widened. If he knew that, then he was a sorcerer as well. But where was his ring? "Yes….but where is yours?" I asked, slowly walking towards him. "Didn't your father tell you?" I shook my head. "I'm the Prime Merlinian. I don't need a ring to cast magic." I stopped again, shocked once more. So this was the Prime Merlinian that my father had told me about. This was the student that he had taught before I was even born, the student that had become his greatest achievement over all these years.

"You are the Prime Merlinian?" I said my voice a whisper as I stood there, still shocked by all the events of the day so far. The professor only laughed, smiling as he nodded, watching me. "Yes, I'm Dave Stutler, the great Prime Merlinian." So that was his name. Dave. I smiled slightly at his attempt to make a joke. Finally, it seemed that I was able to move again as I stepped forward, the shock of what I had learned wearing off. "I'm Katrina Blake, daughter of, well, you know." I said softly, watching as he unlocked the car door.

"So, what exactly happened to you?" Dave said softly as he started the car, pulling out of the drive as he began to go down the road. As I sat there, gazing out the window, I told him my story, of what had happened today, of the things that I wished I could change. It was all something like a bad dream, one that I wanted to wake up from, though I knew that I never could, not until I saved my father from the clutches of that, that….monster. "We'll get him back Katrina. You can count on it. Where is your mother?" Dave asked, glancing over at me as pulled into the parking space in front of an old building.

"My mother is at home. Dad brought me here without telling me why, and he didn't tell her either." I replied, watching as he got out of the car, motioning for me to do the same. Nodding, I did as he asked, getting out of the car to follow him as he made his way towards a door in the building, going through a ring of keys as he did. Reaching another door, he unlocked, and what I saw was something that I found fascinating. It was what appeared to be an old subway tunnel, out fitted with various things. I stood on the small catwalk that hung above the main floor, looking down at everything as Dave moved around, rearranging things, searching for something.

"Here it is…." Dave said softly, moving away a small book case to reveal a small hole in the wall behind it. Reaching into the hole, I watched as he pulled out a small box, opening it to pull out one of the most amazing things I've ever seen. The ring was small, silver, but it was in the shape of a dragon sitting atop a small, blue jewel, which on the inside, appeared to be misty like the sea. It was amazing, and in a way, it was almost like mine. The dragon's tail formed the area where your finger went, and on my ring, the tail of the phoenix formed the area where your finger went.

"That ring is beautiful." I said softly, still standing on the catwalk. Dave gazed at the ring as it sat in the palm of his hand, shining in the low light of the small lair like area. He turned it in his hands, admiring it. "I haven't seen you in ages…." Dave said softly, letting the ring run over his fingers as he sat there on the floor. After a few minutes, he stood, turning around to look up at me with a smile on his face. Without a moment's hesitation, he slipped the dragon's ring onto his finger, closing his eyes as he reveled in the feeling of wearing it once again. "I thought you didn't need a ring." I said, and he opened his eyes, looking straight up at me. "I don't. It's just in case." He responded, and then made his way up the stairs until he was standing beside me.

"Now, let's go get your father."

**So? What did ya think of this first chapter? Whether it was good or bad, review! Tell me if there is anything you'd like to see in the story for upcoming chapters and such, but I won't make any promises as to whether or not they will make it into the story. I'd be glad for any suggestion that you have to offer, as long as all that you right is not a flame! Remember! Review!**

**~Selena**


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